(But also Arenas said on his NBA.com blog that he'll score 50 again this season AND PREDICTS IT WILL HAPPEN AGAINST THE BLAZERS, then instructs TNT or ESPN to put the game on TV or risk missing it. Let's not underappreciate how insanely -- and awesomely -- unique that kind of statement is. How would you feel if you were a Blazers player?)

College Hoops Today: Brand-wise, it doesn't sound particularly glamorous, but Oklahoma State at Texas A&M is the biggest game of the weekend and not a bad proxy to assess both team's chances in March.

You Might Have Missed: NHL's All-Star Folly. Don't forget to check out the Slate piece about how the NHL manipulated the All-Star fan-voting to exclude Rory Fitzpatrick. This was brutal on two key levels.

First, they messed with the integrity of "letting the fans vote," which – for better or worse – is one of the greatest innovations in sports in the last century.

Second, they missed out on the p.r. bonanza of actually having Fitzpatrick play in the game. Not even Ovechkin or Crosby could have gotten casual fans to tune in to the game like the Rory story.

Today's Comments debate: Let's pick up a meme from other blogs (and this one) from earlier in the week: Given that both teams are insufferable, are you rooting for the Colts or the Pats to win?

32 comments:

For years they've played the whole "The Yankees and their fans are the evil empire" angle and claimed the higher moral ground for themselves. Well Now the Red Sox spend freely just like the Yankees and Patriots fans are even more arrogant and obnoxious than Yankees fans have ever been.

Yankee fans are like that sleazebag guy at the bar who hits on every woman at the bar. Sure he's eventually going to hit on your girl but you expect it. Red Sox/Patriots fans are like your best friend who's sleeping with your girl behind your back. They sucked you in with all this lovable loser shit but it turns out they're even bigger assholes themselves.

1. I can't stand Peyton Manning. I think someone at KSK nailed it when he said something like "you don't hate the coach's kid, you hate all the special attention the coach's kid gets." That's Peyton Manning to me. He's be fine if he didn't make the "Peyton Manning face" or if it seemed like his teammates liked him or if he had an ounce of swag. But that just isn't the case. And if he makes the Super Bowl, the endless compliments and butt-kissing coming out of Bristol will be too much to stand.

2. Tom Brady has so much to gain and he represents himself to be the kind of guy I like to see succeed. Look, Brady's got everything. I understand that. But he's a guy who admittedly "surfs for porn," includes linemen in some of his endorsement deals, and never shifts blame or accepts praise. If I were a football player, he's the guy I'd want as my quarterback.

3. The Patriots have dominated the league under the same rules as everyone else. They've figured it out. And they've done it with smart, generally unassuming law-abiding players. This is a copycat league. At some point this will spread. Right?

4. The Colts have one of the most famous ex-Pats kicking for them. Yes, Mr. V is hard to root against, but c'mon, he spurned the Pats because he wanted to see what he could do in a dome. And he thought this would help his legacy? And he chose his formers team's most hated rival? Give me a break!

5. Tony Dungy is not a good game coach. None of us really know how good a coach is. We don't know who is responsible for what during the week. The Jets came into Green Bay this year and DESTROYED my beloved Packers with a perfect game plan. But that doesn't mean Coach Mangini is a genius. He could have had a hand in the game plan. He could have done all of it. It could have been his offensive coordinator or assistents. Heck, it could have been the advance scouts that made the difference, or even guys like Chad Pennington or Kerry Rhodes picking up tendancies during a film session and making the right adjustments On the field. We don’t know. But we do know when a coach is bad at a) clock management b) down and distance decisions c) instant replay challenges and d) play calling in the red zone (head coaches who do not call plays insert their two cents whether to run, pass, or play pass on just about every down in the red zone). Dungy is actually an exception to d), but he's atrocious with a-c. As such, I don't want to see him succeed. Maybe he's responsible for excellent gameplanning and turning around that defense. But he just as easily might not be. I can only judge on what I know, and what I know is he's terrible at his job...

Look,Pats fams annoy people because they are happy about there team winning. That's it, its that simple. It's the same reason we hated the Yankees, Cowboys, Steelers, Canadiens and so on.

However, As much as I hated those teams, I never attacked the fans. Why because it's pointless. I'm friends with people who like all of those teams. Now there are some absolute retards out there, I will grant you that. Namely any dork who yelled "Yankees Suck" at a Pats game. But if we as fans can't seperate the sport from real life, that is a sad commentary on the state of society.

When I was in the Navy, no matter where I was stationed there would always be a one major bar where all the military in the area would go watch the games.

We talked trash, rooted for our teams, and when it was all done; we got drunk, helped each other get home, and have a great time. Didn't matter who you rooted for.

So look I understand why you hate the Patriots and some of our fans, but this issue was been killed and buried by monday and has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DAMN GAMES THEMSELVES. Can we please get back to the sports, I feel like I'm watching The View...

That AFC choice is too hard. I like Dungy better than Belichick. I like Brady better than Manning. Oh, decisions, decisions. I take the Pats.

NFC: Hmmm, da Bears is my choice.

In regards to the "fans" argument...if you really think about it, all fans are assholes in one capacity or another. If you are sober at a football game, your own fans are assholes. If you are at the rival city or school, those fans are assholes. If you run into a bunch of bandwagoners, they are assholes when they try to act like they've been a die-hard _____(insert big name team) fan, yet couldn't even give you any fact or history of the franchise, let alone think a football game has "innings".

Side note: Ok, I am going to puke...the freakin' radio station has John Cougar's "This is Our Country" playing right now. Like the playoffs don't air the dumb commercial enough.

actually..the colts really aren't insufferable as a team. Manning and his commercials might get annoying...'cept for the fact that most of them are actually pretty funny.

I actually started disliking the Pats a few years ago when they decided sportsmanship wasn't necessary. So not hard to root for the Colts.

Annoying fanbases aren't annoying because they win or because they root for their team. They are annoying because they play the 'no respect card (STILL), they constantly talk smack (and if they lose, they talk historian smack -- yeah well we won last year). Most annoying fanbases are in college sports. In the Pros...its pretty much the Boston teams and a handful of others.

Pats win; we get 2 weeks of the media slobering on Brady and Belichick, we hear nothing but how the undermanned Pats pulled off another miracle victory, how Pioli is the smartest man alive, and we have to live in mortal fear that they will win the Super Bowl and then we get an entire offseason of articles about how the Pats have become the greatest franchise in the NFL and possibly in any sport that ever existed.

-or-

Colts win; 2 weeks of articles about how Peyton Manning finally got the monkey off his back (complete with incessant references to Steve Young), insane amounts of credit being tossed to Vinetari and questions about "what if the Colts dumped Vanderjagt earlier?", Dungy finally getting credit for whatever the Hell it was he did to the defense in the last few weeks, and at least one episode of SportsCenter devoted entirely to Peyton Manning commercials (including the debut of a new Peyton Manning "this is SportsCenter" spot).

I've been disgusted by Boston fans since I was a little kid watching the '75 world series. It isn't winning that makes them obnoxious. Many are just in-your-face jackasses -- like Raider fans, but with a speech impediment, lower IQ and a higher propensity to seek out fights.

LT is what he is because he is awesome, not because Cam Cameron made him awesome. Ronnie Brown looks like a fine running back, but he doesn't even have the same running style as LT (power vs. speed) so the comparison ends there.

Samardzija made an interesting choice chosing baseball. Pitching is a lot less physically draining than playing WR, but choosing baseball doesn't guarantee him the chance to ever play in the big leagues. He gets his big money now (although I think he would have got more with football), but beyond that if he turns out to be one of those guys who never makes it then this could be his last big paycheque. But he said he chose the sport he likes better, and I wish him all the best.

If I'm a Blazer, after what Arenas said, I feel like clocking him one when he drives into the lane. Arenas says interesting things, but he statements like this could eventually get him hurt.

Not only did the NHL (may be) cheat Fitzpatrick out of a spot in the All-Star game, they should be letting him in now. Scott Niedermeyer, one of the guys voted ahead of Fitzpatrick, is sitting the game out to rest. But rather than go to the fans 3rd choice (Rory) they're just picking a player (Jovanovski) to replace Niedermeyer.

I agree Rafael, Colts really aren't that insufferable. Manning's commercials are funny. Just the concept of him flipping the tables and cheering people in their daily lives is hilarious.

Also Dan Shanoff stated that we would be heartless to not root for NO. However I want to see an all black coached SuperBowl. Isn't that a much HUGER story than the local team from a hurricane ravaged area making the SB? To me that epitomizes the whole civil rights struggle that started at the same time as the SB.

Dungy and Smith are not coaches because they are black, they are coaches because they lead winning teams. Won't this also help NCAA coaches who have something like 3 African American coaches in all of Div IA?

I am rooting for the Colts and I am rooting for the Bears. I think the Saints are a slightly better overall team though. Colts and Pats are too hard to call. Way too many variables.

Also I am missing the game since I am going to MSG to watch Syracuse play St. Johns in basketball. Oh well, I am sure I will see highlights.

I always thought is was creepy that Hewitt and Clijsters were a couple: don't they look like siblings? I suppose there aren't many major upsets yet, although Serena is unseeded and still in and American Mardy Fish (unseeded former Top 20 w/ injuries the last couple of years) knocked off the 4 seed in the first round and is still going. Who thinks Roddick's win last week over Federer in an exhibition was a fluke? Who wants Blake to destroy Capri...I mean Nadal?

Is dog showing considered a sport (more so than poker isn't it)? I'm trying to figure out if I attended a sporting event today. It has a similar atmosphere to other sporting events (although a little more subdued).

IND but they don't cover (20-19 ish).NO pulls ahead and CHI has time, but can't get into range for Gould to win it (21-20 ish).

I think I miss having pets. My cat (living with the parents) died in 06 (since when do cats live to 17?) and I haven't had a dog that I felt was "mine" in about 10 years. Rose City Dog Show: apparently - as dog shows go - it is a pretty big one: there were 58 Newfoundlands. Amazing group!

Mauresmo went down in straight sets to the unranked Safarova! Upset, Upset! Will Dan even mention it (or even acknowledge the Aussie Open)? Probably not with the 2 games tomorrow.

So... I'm back. After 3 weeks in Israel and 1 week in Orlando I'm glad to be back home. (OK, I'm not. But how would you feel if I told you that you guys aren't the most interesting bunch ever? Yeah, that's what I thought.) Did anybody miss me? I know that when I left I was Big D's favorite commenter, and I wonder if that still holds true.

As far as the Pats-Colts debate goes...I'm rooting for the Pats. As I'm not actually a fan of either team I will root for my favorite player, which is Tom Brady.

I don't understand the hatred towards Pat's fans. The suggestion that they even rival Yankee fans is insane. Pat's fans are just happy their teamhas been winning and that they have a great coach and QB. Can you blame them? If my team won three Super Bowls and had Belichek and Brady I'd be pretty fricking happy about it too.

I love the fact that I have another opportunity to see the Manning Face. I know deep down that Dungy is not a good playoff coach.

Sure, I think it's actually a little unfair that the Patriots line to the Super Bowl included Jets-Marty-Dungy. But that's how the cookie crumbles.."(on a side note: when was the last time you heard someone actually say "That's how the cookie crumbles." 5 years? 10?)

On a comppletely seperate note...As a Bullets fan, I am blind to all things detrimental to Gilbert "Hibatchi!" Arenas. And if I was a Blazer right now, I'd be shaking in my boots.(on a side note: when was the last time you heard someone actually say "I'd be shaking in my boots." 15 years? 20?)

So...SI. and ESPN both insist that the steelers will be hiring Tomlin...despite everyone involved saying that it wasn't the case, and Pittsburgh papers saying it will be Grimm.

Last evening, the ESPN article said sources had told Mortensen that it wasn't true...by late in the night, the article had been changed to say that Mortensen had been told that it WAS true. Sounds like first class reporting. It's good to see that the WWL is fine with being a gossip queen and printing stories that my be false just so that it can claim to have gotten the 'scoop'.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.